Eliot Kamenitz, The Times-PicayuneJohn Kasay has been as good as the New Orleans Saints could have hoped for.

He's 16 of 18 on field goals and perfect on all 25 extra-point attempts. He's 15 for 15 from inside 50 yards. It's a testament to the quality kicking in the NFL this season that Kasay's 88.9 success rate ranks only 20th in the league so far.

The Saints couldn't ask for much more after plucking Kasay out of retirement in late August to replace injured incumbent Garrett Hartley.

The high-powered Saints offense doesn't rely much on field goals. They just need a trustworthy leg at the spot. And few kickers have ever been more reliable than Kasay. He ranks eighth in NFL history in scoring with 1,896 points and his 449 field goals rank sixth.

How old is Kasay? At 41, he's the oldest player in the NFL. His first year in the NFL was 1991. That year, the Saints went 11-5 under Jim Mora and rookie running back Fred McAfee led the team in rushing. That's how old.

Kasay hasn't had to kick in the clutch yet for the Saints but those days surely will come. And the Saints couldn't have a better man for the job. He's made 13 game-winning field goals in his career.

You won't hear much from Kasay. He's an infrequent presence in the locker room and rarely conducts interviews. But his steady left leg should not be overlooked in the Saints' strong start

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1. Numbers game: As a linebacker, Martez Wilson could have picked any number in the 50s or 90s. He chose No. 95 to honor his younger brother, Shaun Phillips "He was born in '93," he said. Unfortunately, Junior Galette already owned No. 93 and draft classmate Cam Jordan had dibs on No. 94. So Wilson took the next closest number. "I figured I was going to be rushing off the edge so I didn't want something in the 50s," he said. The number is about as far from his numerical choice at the University of Illinois as possible. He wore No. 2 for the Illini. "I wanted to be different," Wilson said. No one would argue with that. Wilson is the 14th Saint to wear No. 95. Of the group, only Austin Robbins (1996-99) played more than two seasons.

2. Tweet of the week: "He (is) better than me. I would've acted a fool if I hit tht....they would have came out tryn to hit me the next game." - Shaun Rogers (@QBComa92), 11:43 p.m. Thursday on David Freese's game-winning home run in Game 6 of the World Series.

3. Quote of the week: "For a guy like Drew Brees to say the things he said about former players is completely preposterous to say a cliché word. It's downright ridiculous for him, a guy who should know better being that he's lucky he's not sitting on the couch watching football after the shoulder injury he received in San Diego and would have been in the same boat as a lot of these guys out here dealing with these injury situations." - Former Saints offensive tackle Kyle Turley in a feature story about his post-football musical career. Turley was one of the most popular Saints in his day but he won't win many followers taking on the most popular player in franchise history.

4. Required reading: Kudos to Alex Restrepo of Neworleansaints.com for his insightful feature story on Brees' weekly balancing act as a father, husband, football player and philanthropist. Brees has been written about ad infinitum but Restrepo took a fresh angle and uncovered some revealing information about the Saints star quarterback.

5. Fact of the week: New Orleans was only the third team in NFL history to score 60 or more points in one game, with at least 200 rushing yards and 300 passing yards. The others were the Bears against the Packers in 1980, and the Jets against the Bucs in 1985.

6. Encouraging stat of the week: This one from NFC South blogger Pat Yasinskas at ESPN.com: Darren Sproles is tied with teammate Jimmy Graham for second in the NFL. He leads all running backs in catches and is on pace to shatter his previous-best season total of 59 catches from last season. In fact, at his current pace, Sproles would finish the season with 103 receptions. The NFL record for receptions by a running back is 101, set by Larry Centers in 1995.

7. Disturbing stat of the week: Opponents are rushing for 5.4 yards a carry against the Saints. Only this week's opponent - the Rams at 5.5 - has allowed a worse average in the NFL.

8. What I liked from Week 7: Everything. What's not to like about the most dominant victory in club history? One stat overlooked in the scoring circus: The Saints were penalized just once for 10 yards. That's a big improvement the previous three games when the Saints averaged seven penalties for 62 yards.

9. What I didn't like from Week 7: At the risk of being labeled a whiner. ... The arctic conditions in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome press box have become nearly unbearable. A little background: When the Saints and Dome officials moved the press box to the upper reaches two years ago as part of the final phase of renovations, they failed to anticipate one glaring logistical problem. The new open-air box sits right beneath the ring of huge air conditioning vents that cool the stadium on game days. The gusts from the vents are so powerful they blow stat sheets off the counter tops at reporters' work spaces into the unsuspecting crowd below. It's common for journalists to wear stocking caps, scarves and mufflers to games. And woe to the reporter who fails to bring a coat of some kind, preferably fleece-lined. Long-time Saints beat reporter Sheldon Mickles actually caught a cold after Sunday night's game. I realize no one is going to have sympathy on a bunch of spoiled sports writers who could be digging ditches for a living. But is it asking too much to cover the five or six vents above the press box - there are scores more ringing the stadium - or somehow redirect them so journalists can adequately perform their jobs? ... Otherwise, I thought the game was great.

10. Fearless prediction for Week 8: Having fallen short of my prediction of a 100-yard rusher last week because of an untimely heel injury to Mark Ingram (91 yards), I'm doubling-down this week. Even though Ingram won't play, I feel fairly confident some Saints running back will break through with the club's first 100-yard rushing day since Week 13 of last season. The Rams are ranked dead last in the NFL in rushing defense. Their opponents rush for a shocking average of 184 yards a game and 5.5 yards a carry. Someone is bound to break a big gainer and get 100. Mark it down.